Yankees’ Stengel called Glendale home

KATHERINE YAMADA

Casey Stengel, who managed the New York Yankees for many years and

led the team to 10 pennants and seven World Series championships, was

a very well-known person in Glendale.

Stengel moved to town in 1924 and married Edna Lawson, daughter of

John Lawson, a builder and developer in Glendale during the 1930s.

They lived on Grandview Avenue during the winter and in New York City

during baseball season.

Stengel played in the major leagues before signing on as manager

of the Yankees in 1949. He was considered a great tactician and was

known for his antics on the field.

“He was also known for his witty, stream-of-consciousness

monologues on all facets of baseball history,” according to a web

biography at casey-stengel.biography.ms.

Sportswriters loved him, calling his dialogues “Stengelese.”

He left the Yankees in 1960, then went to a new expansion team,

the New York Mets, for three years. After a fall at Shea Stadium that

broke his hip, he retired from baseball altogether and returned with

his wife to Glendale as permanent residents.

His uniform number, 37, has been retired by both the Yankees and

the Mets.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

Lora Martinolich, of the Glendale Public Library, called one day

and said that Jim O’Hara, a producer of Major League Baseball

documentaries, was looking for anyone who knew Stengel. I made a few

phone calls and discovered that there are quite a few people in town

who remember him.

Vic Pallos, a baseball fan and collector of baseball memorabilia,

said he used to see Stengel hold court with his friends at Robinhood,

a local bar and restaurant. He also told me that Stengel was involved

with Valley National Bank, founded by his brother-in-law John Lawson

and headquartered in town.

Jim Pagliuso, who lives on Grandview Avenue near the Stengel home,

said the Stengels were still living there when the Pagliusos bought

their house in the 1970s.

“He was a celebrity in the city,” said Pagliuso. “He was very tied

into the establishment and would discuss city events with his cronies

at the old Verdugo Club on Broadway.”

Verdugo Park’s baseball field was named after Stengel in 1952 and

Pagliuso said he was in the crowd that day. He also recalled the day

that representatives from the Hall of Fame came to sort through

Stengel’s accumulation of baseball-related articles and remembered

his funeral in 1976, which was attended by many people from the

baseball world.

Jane Phillips said she and her husband, Stan, were invited to the

World Series one year, along with several other locals. They took an

overnight propeller flight to New York and stayed at the Essex House,

the Stengel’s summer home.

“New York turns itself inside out during the Series,” she said.

“We went to all kind of parties.”

Stengel died at the age of 85. He is buried at Forest Lawn

Memorial Park in Glendale.

KATHERINE YAMADA’S column runs every other Saturday. To contact

her, call features editor Joyce Rudolph at 637-3241. For more

information on Glendale’s history visit the Glendale Historical

Society’s webpage: www.glendalehistorical.org.